How could you possibly be content with this?

[EngimaMK]

I'm also concerned how slowly we get into games. I too doubt the full quality of our squad. But we do win a lot, we win big games, we win when we have to. We have been a top ten team for so long. Ole has made us a top four team. I'm not super happy with top 4 but it's where we are right now and he has really stabalised the club. Whether he is the man to take us forward remains to be seen but chill your beans.

Support this man until the next one comes in. We DO look like a team again. Chill the feck out child.

 

[EngimaMK]

Seen plenty of games down the years when we’ve played shite and won and we’ve played well and lost. Great comeback against a difficult in form team, 9 away wins in a row, 2 points off the top after a poor start and big game coming up in the Champions League. I’m quite happy with where we are going.

Of course you are. Me too. Unfortunately our fam base is filled with entitled children.

 

[EngimaMK]

There's a positive in all this. Look at the quality we have. Look how much, when we're on it, we can absolutely blaze teams, including PSG.

And we've beaten plenty of other top teams, also gone toe to toe for a draw with some. Plenty of the managers our child like fans suck off have been beaten by ole. Pathetic, childish, Man City "want it all now" children all over the place.

I'm not convinced ole is necessarily the man to get us there but if you can't see improvement from 2 years ago, you are willfully blind and not worth paying attention to.

 

[Morpheus 7]

I don't think the original post was great, I think I get what the poster is saying though. United are relying on individual moments to swing a game. It's great to win when your not playing well. I'm glad we won and enjoyed moments of the second half. Having 20 minutes in a match will catch up eventually. I think Ole is lucking out and Bruno is covering bigger issues. The same old problems in the coaching are there. These goals from corners at near post, controlling possession in the midfield, shape and tactics, subs ect. I think we know how this will end under Ole. Fan channels still going on about a lack of preseason in December. Sick of the excuses for poor performances, happy to win but is there real improvement in our setup and play style, I still feel we are a counter attack team.

There is nothing wrong questioning and having a debate about it, you can enjoy the win but wonder how far these performances will get us.
I'm glad we are winning and it's not looking bad tonight. I just feel like long term he's not going to take us to next level. I think the poster is suggesting that. Fine line between being loyal and being blind.

 

[UDontMessWith24]

And no one ever moaned after a ropey performance where we ended up winning 3-1 did they, cause we were challenging for titles...that's how I remember it too... there was never any moaning back then.



Occasional? "Fergie time" became an actual phrase due to the sheer number of times we relied on a goal in the dying minutes to get something from a game.

As far as comparisons go, I'll compare results, we've more points than any other team since the end of the Jan transfer window.

You're confused. "Fergie time" happened about 5-6 times a season, and part of "Fergie time" was matches in which we were dominant from start to finish but couldn't break through. You're mistaking performances like today for those professional, lower gear but in complete control performances, and that's what top level managers can get out of their teams consistently. I try to look at everything fairly so I'll say I have seen that under Ole, but it has to be sustained for longer periods of the season than it has been so far. Today was not an example of the aforementioned type of performance so let's not spin it into something it isn't.

 

[reelworld]

I've come to the conclusion that any comparison with Fergie is daft. His challenges and Ole's challenges is very different. Therefore any success or failure that Ole achieve must be seen within the context of the challenges that Ole faced.
Unfortunately most fans are familiar with Fergie and expect United to win the way Fergie did a long time ago. That's not gonna happen.
I didn't see the match last night, but judging from the threads here I got a good picture how it might go.
The way I see it, the biggest challenge that Ole have right now is to coax a consistent performance from his main players. The balancing act of letting them play out their slump to play well again and still winning is delicate. Right now there's only one player with consistent output no matter how good or bad he plays, and that's Bruno. Right now the (away) wins is buying him time to figure things out with the rest of the team, but make no mistake when Bruno dropped off, and his team mates don't step up, it's gonna get ugly for United. I hope Ole and the players figure things out before that happen

 

[el3mel]

Thanks for that, I've been a member of this forum for 14 years, I'm pretty much up to date on topical threads.



Did you miss the whole 'green and gold til the club is sold' thing?



We won 3-1 and are 2 points off the top?


Well, they did, look up the threads from 2004, 2005.

I really don't understand the point of comparison about reaction you are making with Fergie days that's all. I mean if people were complaining back in the day when we played poorly, then nothing has changed? It just got exaggerated because we are no longer winning league titles anymore.

 

[Gazza]

We were great after Pogba equalised, hopefully we can build on that because there was some great play there. Enjoyed that second half like any typical United fightback, credit to the players for turning it round and to Ole for making some needed changes during the match.

 

[POF]

9 away wins in a row in the Premier League. A club record. More than Fergie accomplished at any time during his tenure.

Not sure how anyone can be content with that.

 

[midnightmare]

It’s painful to realize that some of our fans have now reached the point bordering (?) utter and complete delusion. I’d love to know which team has ever gone through a PL season playing swashbuckling football every single minute of every single game and cantered to wins over all comers scoring for fun with brilliant “patterns of play” and not relying on any individual brilliance.

Absolutely bizarre that we can’t even enjoy wins any more.

 

[Nevilles.Wear.Prada]

Because 3/3 points is all i seek in a League game? Dude u gotta lie down a bit..

 

[westmeath]

Exactly. More often than not, Fergie relied on individual brilliances to win titles. Why is that a problem?

This is 100% correct. SAF’s teams were masters of winning when playing badly. I would say this is what most really good teams do. It’s never about performance, all about winning.

 

[Jaqen H'ghar]

Another one in a long list of threads, with no purpose other than to spread negativity. So many similar threads with a similar theme that I don't think a new thread is warranted.

When it happens after a loss it can at least be excused as 'knee jerk' but posting that even after a win is just bizzare.

 

[Gasolin]

We have 4 wins in a row now in the league, right? That's good. Let's beat City and make it 5 after a nice qualification in the CL and we're going to have a good Dec.

 

[Bondi77]

I feel like celebrating our three brilliant goals today;

 

[U.N.C.L.E]

My word some of you young uns are impatient.

There’s gents here who as lads watched in tears as United were relegated in the 70s then endured the pain of a Scouser ascendancy in the following decade.

Of course, you’re entitled to an opinion but there’s a few of you who do carry on a tad.

 

[Beanz]

I remember so often how post fergie if we went 1 or 2 nil down we had zero hope of coming back. We'd just capitulate with zero effort and zero chance of saving ourselves. Now we are at a point where we have a team that picks itself up and turns it around. How is that not a positive? We can't always have 100% performances from start to finish but its comforting to know that we're building a team with the cojones to turn it around massively.

 

[stevoc]

I remember the days when watching us play used to be fun.

If you can't derive any joy at all from watching the team you support turning a game around with some good football, scoring good goals and coming back from a goal down to win 3-1 away.

Then maybe you need a short break from football mate. That match yesterday was a performance that happened regularly during the Fergie years. Go away after a tough European game play lackluster, go behind, come back to win with a few moments of brilliance.

 

[Zen86]

If you can't derive any joy at all from watching the team you support turning a game around with some good football, scoring good goals and coming back from a goal down to win 3-1 away.

Then maybe you need a short break from football mate. That match yesterday was a performance that happened regularly during the Fergie years. Go away after a tough European game play lackluster, go behind, come back to win with a few moments of brilliance.

He probably didn’t enjoy the 99 champions league final, either. If he was old enough to see it, that is.

 

[Wumminator]

It is genuinely horrible what football video games and YouTube complications have done to the average footy fan.

 

[buckooo1978]

What a great win and you can't beat that Sunday morning feeling after putting up and excellent 45 and winning well.

make no mistake though - we were TERRIBLE in that first half. Couldn't pass, slow and all sorts of shit.

Covid football will be used to excuse these wild swings in form and I hope this is the case. If it is the case we should have had Dan James, Mata, Williams and other fringe players start the game then

We have seen this kind of play before from Ole sides though, before talk of covid

we need to improve our squad management one way or the other. We shouldn't be so bad.

This isnt a binary thing. It is possible to be ecstatic at the win and baffled by the first half. We have to trust Ole to make changes to solve the problem

 

[stevoc]

It still is and if you can't remember games under Fergie where we were playing bad, losing and came back to win then you need to review things. I've had more fun supporting Ole's United than I have under any manager post Fergie.

Same here we are nowhere near as consistent as Fergies United teams obviously but we do play good football for the most part, score good goals, and lots of them shared around more than just 1-2 players.

I don't have any stats to prove it but it feels like we are scoring 4-5 goals in matches and coming from behind far more regularly under Ole than the previous managers. The last year or so has been far more entertaining for me to watch than the vast majority of the 4 years under Louis/Jose. And of course the less said about Dim Daves 12 months in charge the better.

 

[Marcus]

Football is exciting. It means experiencing the highs and lows and the unexpected. If you want certainty, erm go watch a movie you have seen before. Even during Sir Alex's time, there were people calling for him to be sacked, now and then.

 

[Footy van de Geek]

My word some of you young uns are impatient.

There’s gents here who as lads watched in tears as United were relegated in the 70s then endured the pain of a Scouser ascendancy in the following decade.

Of course, you’re entitled to an opinion but there’s a few of you who do carry on a tad.

The future is now, old man.

 

[Manny]

It is genuinely horrible what football video games and YouTube complications have done to the average footy fan.

And Youtube fan channels looking for clicks

 

[EngimaMK]

It is genuinely horrible what football video games and YouTube complications have done to the average footy fan.

I genuinely think that is part of it. The entitlement, expecting 90 mins of highlight reels every match. It's bizarre and entitled.

 

[sparx99]

How can anyone be happy with constantly winning games scoring a lot of goals and the best form in the league over the last year?

Baffles me as well.

OP was a bit over the top but you can’t actually watch that first 60 minutes and think everything is rosy.

The team starts so slowly and while Ole has had an impact with his subs the last couple of weeks questions surely must be asked of why they don’t start the game fired up.

I’m glad we won and for 13 mins we were excellent but if we start like this next week against city we’ll be 2-3 goals down not one.

 

[sparx99]

I genuinely think that is part of it. The entitlement, expecting 90 mins of highlight reels every match. It's bizarre and entitled.

Nobody expects 90 mins of scintillating football but the depths of our awfulness and the peaks of our excellence are ridiculously far apart.

We could barely pass to a teammate first half and had no threat whatsoever.

 

[sparx99]

Because we can see the potential, and the positives. This team has done great things, and can continue to do great things. It’s a matter of refining what we have, adding a couple more players. We no longer need to uproot the whole squad, which is wonderful. We are 100% making progress, but it’s not a linear path.

Seeing positives doesn’t absolve them of criticism though.

Why can’t the manager get them to start games quickly? Somebody should probably have been subbed in the first half hour to make a point.

 

[Gasolin]

Seeing positives doesn’t absolve them of criticism though.

Why can’t the manager get them to start games quickly? Somebody should probably have been subbed in the first half hour to make a point.

I think we have taken the stance that this is a long season with very short recovery times in a difficult context, so we just grind out the games and try to win on a short span if needed. We also try to manage the minutes of all the players. It's a weird feeling, but I think we do our best to avoid long term injuries by not forcing it if we don't have to basically.

 

[tomaldinho1]

I think if the OP was a bit less emotionally written it could have provided a better debate.

Essentially, is this style of play (which aside from being direct I don't know if anyone can categorize because we are so different game to game) good enough for us to be where we want to be/should be with this squad? Assuming there's not much more to come stylistically/tactically now Ole's been here 2 years - are we riding our luck to the Nth degree or is this team and it's ability to claw it's way back into games one we can get behind and trust?

I know we joke about Ole's first test but this is a pivotal week coming up - if we can't pick up at least a draw at RBL I think it will be hard to defend him for almost everyone and then I have a horrible feeling City are going to batter us unless something changes quickly because we let West Ham completely outplay us for 60mins and if they had better attackers, we would have been in trouble.

 

[Wumminator]

I think if the OP was a bit less emotionally written it could have provided a better debate.

Essentially, is this style of play (which aside from being direct I don't know if anyone can categorize because we are so different game to game) good enough for us to be where we want to be/should be with this squad? Assuming there's not much more to come stylistically/tactically now Ole's been here 2 years - are we riding our luck to the Nth degree or is this team and it's ability to claw it's way back into games one we can get behind and trust?

I know we joke about Ole's first test but this is a pivotal week coming up - if we can't pick up at least a draw at RBL I think it will be hard to defend him for almost everyone and then I have a horrible feeling City are going to batter us unless something changes quickly because we let West Ham completely outplay us for 60mins and if they had better attackers, we would have been in trouble.

You’re completely right of course.

Sure up until now results under Ole have been very good and our football has improved but next week City MIGHT score TWENTYEIGHT goals against us so I get the OPs point.

 

[tomaldinho1]

You’re completely right of course.

Sure up until now results under Ole have been very good and our football has improved but next week City MIGHT score TWENTYEIGHT goals against us so I get the OPs point.

Helps if you read the post before living up to your username.

Point about City is just my person fear based on how many chances we're giving teams with undeniably worse players. Will City's attack be so profligate?

What I think would make a good debate and have taken from the OP is in the para before.

 

[Gabagoo]

Urgh, the "be happy we won" brigade are out in force, as usual.

Yesterday's game was awful for the most part. We should have been well beaten. I'm happy we won but that wasn't a good enough performance for me to be happy with it, regardless of our current position.

United being enjoyable to watch is the main reason that I started supporting them. If you take that away then it's just numbers.

Bigger picture, though: we're making steady progress, albeit very slow, and a more talented manager might one day be able to profit from Solskjaer's reign.

 

[Eyepopper]

I really don't understand the point of comparison about reaction you are making with Fergie days that's all. I mean if people were complaining back in the day when we played poorly, then nothing has changed? It just got exaggerated because we are no longer winning league titles anymore.

The point of comparison is that, even when we're winning back to back titles, we have entitles idiots who just love to moan.

Minutes after a 3-1 win that puts us into the top 4 probably isnt the best time to start a thread about not being content.

 

[Bobcat]

Wholeheartedly agree but people on here just want to be right.

Results are important but we don't look like a cohesive unit/team. We have no style and no one that goes on about progression can spell out how we've actually progressed except talking about some culture bullshit and how Ole has bought well even though we've spent crazy money on some absolute average players (Maguire and Wan Bissaka) and the rest were obvious buys (Bruno).

We change formations every other game, sometimes in the middle of the game. That's bad enough if our players knew what they're doing but they look like total strangers to each other most of the time.

1. In the calendar year of 2020 we have a better record than Liverpool. Which is pretty impressive considering they got 100 points in the league two season in a row
2. We create and score a lot more. Right now we are about 2.2 GPG which is the highest number post Ferguson
3. We are the comeback kings this season. Instead of letting heads drop like they used to, we now fight our way back and secure the win.
4. At the start of 2018/19 about half the caf thought we were going to end up in top 4 (and the ones having us first were just taking the piss i bet). And the general consensus was that we were still a couple of key signings away (i.e the dreaded rebuild). While now top 4 is seen as a banged on recruitment. That means the bar is raised which also means progress

Do you honestly think we are just making it up as we go along? Zero plan and instructions, the players are just sent out there with a pat on the back and a thumbs up? If Ole really was that much of a clueless bastard as you would have it. Dont you think the players or someone, at the club would have found out by now and ousted him?

Van Gaal had a very visible style, but that did not translate to good results or even good football.

 

[crossy1686]

I vaguely remember a game where we were absolutely shite for a good 90 minutes, we conceded a goal from a free-kick but could have easily been down by more than 1 by the 90th minute. They hit the crossbar and mostly dominated the game in every department.

However, we made some subs and I think it was the 92nd minute scored from a corner and then got another one about a minute later to win 2-1.

I don't remember that many people being upset about it though? Maybe I wasn't looking hard enough for content-ness?

 

[Schmeichel's Cartwheel]

Euphoria of a win.

a good 15 minutes overwrote a wretched 60 mins

 

[Schmeichel's Cartwheel]

I vaguely remember a game where we were absolutely shite for a good 90 minutes, we conceded a goal from a free-kick but could have easily been down by more than 1 by the 90th minute. They hit the crossbar and mostly dominated the game in every department.

However, we made some subs and I think it was the 92nd minute scored from a corner and then got another one about a minute later to win 2-1.

I don't remember that many people being upset about it though? Maybe I wasn't looking hard enough for content-ness?

That was a champions league final. This was a random game against West Ham. These are not the same haha.

 

[crossy1686]

That was a champions league final. This was a random game against West Ham. These are not the same haha.

Why not? A win's a win is it not? As long as you get it does it really matter what the occasion is? What about our high scoring games against Newcastle instead? Or being down 3-0 at half time to Tottenham?

People have every right to criticise and be concerned about the first hour of the game, it simply wasn't good enough, but calling for drastic changes based on it is about as spoiled and entitled as it gets.